Fairy Tale
(< Previous Chapter) - (Next Chapter >) Jenes' POV "The Ayelands smoulder even now as the Walls of Wind are falling. In the Sarpland, the Garlcutter wages his stonewar against the Far West. The greymen have named him their emperor, and his friend the Snakepit has been named White-Ear. Lobott's power wanes evermore, and in Crahia Duke's Rebellion is entering its 10th year fighting against the King-that-Kills-Kings, and above it all shines that evil black star." Princess Jenes stared at her cousin absentmindedly whilst he spoke. She heard it all, but cared for none of it. 'He ought to shave...' she thought to herself, observing his bushy moustache bouncing up and down with his each and every word. His eyes were blue, his head was bald, and his skin pale. "I mislike it all much, my princess. Especially disconcerting are the rumors of skinstealers and horsemen in the Forest Empire." He stood over her as she sat, for no matter his words, he was the true power here. "Lord Meleskett," she began, stoking his ego, "Great Emperor Falk is the true power in the Far West, I believe wholeheartedly that he will crush the Sarplanders." 'Wholeheartedly is a good word. It implies strong emotions, whilst also sounding confident.' Meleskett had taught her to use it in all her speeches for him. Meleskett smiled, "speaking of Falk... his men have proposed a great plan to me. One which will give strength to the Far West in this trying time, and help unify us against the worshippers of Calthoss... You will marry Falk." Jenes had barely been paying attention, but her eyes opened up in surprise, and then disgust. Apparently this reaction did not please Meleskett, as he was no longer smiling. "What is the matter princess? Emperor Falk is the true power in the Far West. He is wealthy beyond belief, and far above even your station. He is not cruel, but kind." He was smiling again. Jenes looked nervous, and she thought hard for a second, before saying "Falk is a boyfucker. He does not like girls. He has sex with his manservants. I can't marry him!" If Meleskett was unhappy before, now he was furious. "How dare you, you stupid girl?! How dare you sully the name of a Great Emperor like that? You have no respect, to be spreading such evil rumors about such a powerful man." He turned around, walking towards the door, before turning back to look at her. "As I said, you will marry Falk. Your pettiness will not lead to the destruction of the Far West." He opened the door to her room, turned around to walk through it, and then slammed it shut. Jenes sighed. She stood up from her chair, walking through her bedroom window onto a balcony. The balcony overlooked an expanse of clouds that stretched nearly all directions on and on, with only occasional mountains peeking up. The sky shone a featureless light purple as the sun began to set behind her tower, and the new moon rose ahead of her. Featureless, save for the black star of course. To her, it seemed not so interesting. Neither an evil omen, nor an augur. To her it was just a black dot, and with ease she turned around, walking to her mirror. Meleskett always had her handmaidens dress her in the 'right and proper' attire for the Princess of the Sky. She was one of the Four Great Emperors of the Far West. 'Nevermind that there are really only three now, and one of them is a princess, not an emperor...' She took of her sangahalk, her Farwestern crownhelm. A fancy name for a cloth tube decorated with ice flowers. She untied her hair, which was to be neatly and properly secured beneath her crownhelm, and watched it cascade down her shoulders and back, all long, black, and curly. She loved her hair, but many times Meleskett had urged her to cut it short. He had even hired doctors, who often acted as barbers in the Far West, to cut her hair, only to stop the haircut when she would begin to cry. He said angrily that "it would not do for a princess to cry. Indeed, it would mean the certain execution of the doctor." 'What a world I live in, where someone can die for giving me a haircut.' She always tried not to cry, but it was so hard. The scissors reminded her of the night her cousin took power, of men storming her palace of Skywar. Of her father's pained screams, and her mother's gurgled last words, whatever they were. "It would not do for a princess to die," Meleskett had said. The scissors reminded her of that night because the last words she could remember her mother saying to her were from a few hours prior. Jenes was only seven years old, and her mother had been playing with her hair, as their favorite handmaiden brushed it. "Oh you must stop," the handmaiden, Ela, said to her mother while laughing. Her mother smiled, and said "oh but I can't resist. My, Jenes, you hair has gotten long!" Ela, her mother, and her father all died painfully. Jenes was spared, and these past ten years she wondered 'why' every night before going to sleep. A handmaiden was helping her wash makeup off of her face, and when she was finished Jenes said "thank you, you may leave now." The handmaiden left. Jenes did not know her name, for Meleskett gave her a new handmaiden every few weeks, and would not allow them to introduce themselves to the princess. She continued staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were blue, her lipstick had been blue, her crownhelm, and dress were blue. Her hair clasps were blue. Her socks, shoes, and undergarments were all blue. Her bedsheets were blue. Her carpets, curtains, and pillows were blue. The stone walls of her room were dark blue. Her handmaidens dressed in blue, and even the map of the Delklands on her wall was mostly blue. Yet she did not feel blue. Jenes was not naïve. She knew that in this world there was much greater suffering, real suffering when compared to her's. Yet... 'I am a seventeen-year-old girl, what do I care for the smouldering Ayelands? That happened a century ago, and it's high time that the Walls of Wind fall. No Sarplander has ever killed a Prince of the Sky, not even Aye the Queen, and there are much greater threats to my person, Meleskett being chief amongst them. I don't want to die here at Skywar. One of the Four Capitols of the Far West, of Sanolk, along with Thousandtrees, Watercrown, and Stonetowers. It is where sky meets earth, whatever that means.' 'And why should what the Telfishmen do bother me? Let the grey priests choose their emperor. It means nothing to me. So what if some grey priest was named green-thumb or beige-earlobe or whatever? Calthoss falls before the Four Gods of Nature. Shadow and shine give way to forest, sky, water, and stone. Things that are real, things you can see and touch. Unlike this worthless title. I may be Princess of the Sky, but if I jump out that window, I'll be as able to fly as a hornman.' 'Let Lobott rot. Crahia is far, and in what way does the rebellion of the Harelip Whore affect me? They call Ristt Blot the King-that-Kills-Kings, but when he took power as a sixteen-year-old they called him the boy-King, slayer of mindless beasts. That will always be the line in the book describing his rise to power. And that's all he is to me, a line in a book. Same for Falk.' "Why am I spending anytime thinking of Crahishmen, and my 'future husband' when I have my own knight in shining armor here?" Dressed simply now, with her horseback riding boots on, and her hair worn long, she stood, walking to the door, and rapped on it hard. In walked a knight dressed all in armor painted gold. He was a shining beacon in a sea of blue, brighter to her than the black star could ever be. He was tall, much taller than her, and she had always been tall for a girl. His eyes were green, not blue. His hair was dirty blond, and long for a man's. He smiled at her, and she smiled at him. "Sir Almos... the YELLOW," he had introduced himself as. Jenes had heard that this colorful title was used by the men and women of a region of Crahia known as the Face. His reputation was awful, and he was considered a brutal mercenary. A proficient killer, unkind, and who would not grow close to the princess that he was to protect. For a long time, she believed it. He had scars on his face that told of countless bloody battles, and deaths. He was curt, too. Finally one day, she returned to her room crying after Meleskett had once again attempted to have her hair cut. It all changed at once. Almos was a kind man, and he could not stand to see a woman cry without trying to comfort her. Before then, he had merely been following Meleskett's orders to not engage with the princess. She told him the truth of that night in her sadness. That was foolish of her, as it endangered him. Save for him, her, and Meleskett, no one knew the truth of that night. Her cousin had claimed that pirates from the nearby Lake Morak had snuck in a small band through the underground tunnels of Skywar, and slain all the princely family of Estel save for Jenes, and ever since then he had ruled through her as regent. Almos said to her "my princess you need only to say the word, and I will slay Meleskett at any expense." She told him not to kill Meleskett, that she could not have Almos' blood on her hands, and that they would both almost certainly be killed by men loyal to her cousin. She recognized that she had an ally in him, however. He was someone who would help her. From that day on, they began planning their escape. They also began something else. It started off as brief looks, and conversations unrelated to their escape. Almos told her that the titles used by the COLORFUL Men of the Face harken back to the days where the Face spoke a tongue written in Rainish Runes, the letters of which look capitalized. "The colors derive their meanings from the countless lakes and lochs of the Face, an endless swamp not truly fit for human habitation. These bodies of water are said to be the countless eyes of the Face, and their colors have meanings, and speak to the character of the people who choose them. This has changed in recent decades, however, as many men simply use these colors as surnames. My father was named Harss the RED, and his father was Lorman the RED, son of Kilman the RED. I took on the name Almos the YELLOW when I decided I would become a hired sword. The YELLOW as in gold, for I sell my knightly services." To Jenes, who grew up high atop a tower in the mountains, surrounded by people who are blue, a swamp full of gruff people calling themselves by random colors sounded wonderfully charming. For months when they spoke of escape, she would ask if they could venture out to the Face. He would always say no, and once told her that he had come to the Far West to flee pain and hurt that he had left behind in the Face. "I have torn a path of bloodshed here. I have a cruel reputation only because I hide my happiness. I do not deserve to be happy." He never elaborated on that, and from the look on his face, she quickly surmised that it would be unwise to ask him more about it. One day, however, he asked her if she still wanted to travel to the Face. He looked uncomfortable asking the question, but she said yes, though they could stop along the way if he was not yet ready to go back home. As the two smiled at each other in the doorway, Jenes thought to herself sadly 'he has to be ready now.' "Sir Almos... we have to leave now. I am to be married to Great Emperor Falk, who I promise will not be fooled into thinking that we have not grown close. He is not my cousin, he is a formidable person." Almos understood, and nodded. They had planned to be ready at the drop of a hat. The hat had dropped now, and it sat on the floor in front of Jenes' mirror. She closed the door behind her. Skywar's interior was stoney, and dark blue, with elaborate artwork of previous princes and princesses decorating the walls. They descended down from Jenes' tower into the upper halls of Skywar. Few guards and servants frequented this area, and only Meleskett, and a few of his cronies lived here. They had practiced this a hundred times before, but now it was real. Almos had learned which halls, and stairwells were the least used in the palace. They took only those halls, and quickly came upon a small, mostly unused storeroom. Almos locked the door behind them. Behind a pile of unread books, all with blue covers, Jenes pulled out a handmaiden's outfit from a bag, and quickly dressed herself, having become fully comfortable around Almos. Though apparently he had not, seeing as he had a light blush on his face. She teased him, whispering "Almos the RED..." He smiled, handing her a plain hair clasp. She tied her hair behind her head, and donned a light blue bonnet. Almos walked out first, holding a bag of whestones and knives, which he had placed there months prior, and that he actually used in his everyday life. Two minutes later, Jenes walked out with a bag of handmaiden outfits. She walked to a specified location, near a dumping pit, with the excuse that she was going to throw out old clothing. A nearby door led down a tower parallel to the dumping pit. Almos was there waiting for her. In this dark lightning he could be mistaken for any other guard with someone who was not familiar with him. They walked a few paces away from each other, and out of a door. Through the door they arrived on to a few abandoned terraces. About a hundred meters away there were still terraces in use by some of the peasants living beneath Skywar. Almos made sure to lock the door behind them, but then began walking ahead. He was dressed in armor, and so left deeper footprints along the ground. As Jenes walked behind him she erased any visible footprints. Now came the hard part. Centuries ago, donkeys could reliably use up to ten different roads to get to Skywar. Now, that number was limited to two, all on the far side of the palace. They came upon the donkey road which had most recently gone out of use, only doing so about five years before Jenes was born. The road was still usable by single humans, and was still occasionally used to descend down Mount Skywar. Jenes had done so twice before, both times with her father. Descent was slow-going, and one had to have careful but sure footing. If their attempt at escape had been during the day they surely would have been spotted from down below. Under the cover of nightfall, however, no one would be able to see them, and better still no one would become aware of their attempt at escape until later in the morning. In the distance, Jenes lost sight of the black star beneath the mountaintops. Nearly six hours later they arrived at the base of Mount Skywar in a patch of trees. Abandoned buildings once belonging to some Prince of the Sky or another littered the area. Surely some peasants lived in them, but they were asleep, and thus would not notice their presence. They walked a few hundred feet before coming upon an old rotted looking tree. There, Almos fished out some supplies for their trip. Food, water, saddles, spare clothes, Lao and Red currency. Enough at the very least to take them far enough away where she would not be instantly recognized. "You're finally free," Almos said, smiling at Jenes. The two of them kissed, and in the distance, the sun began to rise. Just a moment later, seven pigeons arrived at Skywar with news of Falk's assassination. (< Previous Chapter) - (Next Chapter >) Category:Tale of Zul Category:Chapters